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22 Nifty Facts About Netherlands

Netherlands (commonly referred to as Holland) is a low and flat country in North-Western Europe.

In fact, ‘Netherlands’ actually means ‘Low Country’.

It’s so low that only 50% or so of its land is more than 1m above sea level. Incredible!

It is bordered by Germany to the east and Belgium to the south. It also has a coastline along the North Sea to the north and west.

The coordinates for Netherlands are 52.3167° N, 5.5500°

The terrain here is mostly flat lowlands with some hills in the south east.

The total land area of Netherlands is 16,034 square miles (41,528 square kilometres).

Netherlands’s population was 16.8 million in 2013.

The capital is Amsterdam which covers an area of 84.6 square miles (219 square kilometres) and has a population of 811,000 (2014).

Despite being known as Holland and being officially called Netherlands, the residents here are ‘Dutch’.

If you’d like to try a few national dishes during a trip to Netherlands, ‘Hollandse Niewe’ is probably the most famous. It’s raw herring and is served with raw onion and gherkins. We’d also recommend ‘Stroopwafel’ which can be found in some UK supermarkets – it’s a type of waffle/cookie, filled with caramel. Delicious!

Did you know that 70% of the world’s bacon comes from Netherlands?

Apparently, on average the Dutch each consume 74 litres of beer per year!

The average life span here is 78 years.

The Dutch enjoy a temperate climate with cool summers and mild winters. Lovely!

The official language of Netherlands is Dutch, although it is estimated
that 86% of the population speak English as a second language!

Like most EU countries, Euro is the official currency here.

For the last 700 years, ‘Klompen’ or ‘Clogs’ have been traditional footwear favoured by the Dutch to keep their feet dry and safe from injury.